Options for turf, grass fields considered

A fields committee charged with weighing the pros and cons of a new turf or grass field at Falmouth High School will give its recommendation to the school committee on March 13.

The last of three public forums held to explore options for grass and turf fields was held March 1 at Morse Pond School. Representatives from CDM Smith, the Boston-based firm that has been working with the Falmouth Public Schools on field options since 2012, gave what Superintendent Nancy Taylor called a "nuts and bolts' overview of grass and turf field options.

An article is set to go before Town Meeting next month asking that the high school football program be relocated from Guv Fuller Field back to the high school on Gifford Street. If Town Meeting approves the article, a new turf multipurpose field could be built behind the high school's rear parking lot.

If it is decided by selectmen not to build a turf field, a second option would be to construct two new grass fields, one in the same spot behind the high school and a second in a currently wooded area behind the building.

A presentation will be given to selectmen on the project on March 27, complete with the school committee's recommendation, Taylor said.

CDM Smith Vice President David Young and Scott Landgren, a senior project manager with the firm, laid out specifics for both options March 1, including the pros and cons of each option as well as their respective costs.

In both cases, CDM Smith proposes building fields that are 235 x 390 feet in size. Plans also call for the construction of bleacher seating that can accommodate 810 people, 50-foot field lights, a press box with handicap accessible lift, site fencing, and a separate building for concessions and restrooms.

An artificial turf field would be constructed using a mixture of sand and virgin, or unused, rubber, which Landgren said is the "best alternative" to using used tires as field infill. Parents have raised concerns over the potential health impacts exposure to the used tires to could present to student athletes.

Asked about the quality of the proposed turf, Landgren likened it to the the kind used by collegiate and professional sports teams, including the New England Patriots.

"It's the same profile," he said.

Landgren said turf fields are less expensive to maintain annually, costing between $7,000 and $9,000 per year compared to $25,000 to $30,000 for a grass field. The district would also get significantly more usage out of a turf field compared to natural grass, he noted.

"We assume you'll get three times as much usage out of a turf field," he said.

It is also difficult to properly grow grass for a natural field given the high demand placed upon it by spring and fall sports programs, Landgren noted.

It costs $450,000 to build a grass field compared to just over $1 million to build a turf field. But once built, a turf field has a "lifecycle cost" between $712,000 and $744,000, compared to between $600,000 and $680,000 for a grass field. Turf fields, which Landgren said have an average life of 16 years, also need to be renovated twice at the six and 12-year marks.

Consideration also needs to be given to how much available land there is on the high school campus for grass fields. Patrick Murphy, finance manager for the Falmouth Public Schools, said the terrain at the high school is uneven, making it hard to site a grass field. However, land in a wooded area behind and to the side of the high school has been identified as being suitable for the construction of a second grass field, he said.

Trotting Park Road resident Marc Finneran, meanwhile, asked school officials why they haven't explored other potential fields sites off-campus. He said there is approximately five acres of land on Locustfield Road that the district could try and acquire that's assessed at $146,000.

"It seems like a no-brainer to at least investigate it," Finneran said.

But Stephen Kapulka, a member of the field committee, said the town should keep its focus on moving the field to the high school.

"What kind of logic is that," Finneran said.

Others in attendance of the March 1 meeting raised concerns about how turf fields reportedly get hotter during the summer. Chris Mathews, who has children how play sports at the high school, said tests have been done on turf fields that show they rise in temperature between 10 and 12 degrees on average.

"It does run a little hotter, but not as much as you'd think," he said.

Attention was also called to the issue of geese, which frequent the high school property and leave waste on the fields.

"It comes home on their clothes, their sneakers, and their shirts," said Phil Afonso.

Members of the Falmouth Recreation Committee spoke less specifically to their preference between a grass or turf field, but more in favor of relocating the football program back to the high school. Doing so, they said, would free space at Guv Fuller Field for an inclusive, handicap accessible playground, a splash pad, field space for the recreation department, and other amenities that could be used by all members of the community.

"We have to look at the entire picture, not just one sliver," Michael Heylin of the recreation committee said.